The present invention relates to vessels, especially cargo vessels, in general and more particularly to improvements in methods and systems for shielding cargoes from condensate in the holds of seagoing vessels and similar conveyances.
Cargoes which are likely to spoil and/or to be otherwise affected by condensate in the cargo area of a seagoing vessel or the like are normally confined in sealed bags or other types of receptacles so as to prevent direct contact between the stowed material and condensate which is contained in the cargo area and is likely to deposit on the surrounding walls in response to changes of temperature. The simplest way of stowing many types of cargoes would be to pour or otherwise introduce the goods into the cargo area in unconfined state, i.e., into direct contact with the walls surrounding the space which is allotted for the storage of cargo. However, moisture in the air which fills the remainder of the storage area is likely to deposit on the surrounding walls and to trickle down into contact with the stored goods. This leads to spoilage and/or other problems. When the vessel travels from a warmer climate to a colder climate, the temperature in the cargo area is likely to sink so that the moisture in the air filling the space above and/or around the cargo condenses and deposits on the walls with the aforediscussed drawbacks as concerns the appearance and/or quality of the stored goods. The dew point can be reached rather rapidly if the difference between the temperature at the port of lading and the temperature in the selected sea lane is very pronounced.
It is well known that the temperature of walls surrounding the cargo area is likely to sink much more rapidly than the temperature of stowed cargo. The condensate which deposits on the surfaces of such walls gathers into droplets which trickle downwardly and contact the cargo or the receptacles for stored cargo. One presently known proposal to avoid condensation of moisture which is contained in the air in the cargo area includes ventilation of cargo area. This is effective only if the cargo is subdivided into batches which allow for the passage of circulating air therebetween and therearound. However, it is often desirable to store bulk cargo in the hold of a vessel without any partitioning, i.e., in the form of a coherent mass which fills the cargo area to a certain extent, the remainder of the area being filled with air which enters such area during admission of bulk cargo. Therefore, simple pouring of bulk cargo into the hold of a vessel is possible only if the cargo is not likely to spoil or to be otherwise adversely affected by condensed moisture. Consequently, the transport of a wide variety of goods is possible only by incurring the expense of introducing such goods into bags, sacks, containers or other types of receptacles which can effectively prevent direct contact between the goods and the condensate. A typical example of such goods is coffee which could be transported in bulk form at a fraction of the present cost but for the fact that it can be affected by condensate and, therefore, must be confined in relatively small receptacles in the form of bags. In addition, the bags must be stowed in the hold of a ship in such a way that there is enough room for circulation of air in order to reduce the likelihood of condensation of moisture along the walls and/or on the bags. All this contributes significantly to the cost of transport of goods which could be shipped at a fraction of the present cost if they could be simply poured into the cargo area without prior confinement in bags or similar relatively small receptacles. Storage in bags or the like also contributes to higher cost of evacuation of the contents of ships at the port of destination.